Stowaway Survival Story

A flight stowaway is now in critical condition after surviving 11 freezing hours in a plane’s wheel.

18:07 25 June 2015

A 24-year-old man is now fighting for his life after he survived 11 freezing hours in a plane’s wheel. 

 

The man somehow got into the undercarriage of a flight from Johannesburg to London. The flight, which took about 11 hours, cruised at a height of between 30,000 to 40,000ft and the standard ambient temperature was around -54C. Surviving the condition was described by experts as “unbelievable.” 

 

"It's unbelievable that anyone could survive those conditions." says Jack Kreindler, a high-altitude physician at the Centre for Health and Human Performance. "People spend up to three months acclimatising for the top of Everest. Even that's completely different. It's gradual and the clothing is designed for it and they could maybe survive a night at most, and these are people right at the genetic limits - they're not normal.

 

He added: "If someone were to ask the odds of surviving in a wheel well from Johannesburg to London, there's not one expert who'd give them a chance." 

 

The details of the medical condition of the stowaway from South Africa are yet to be released.